Move Over 'Call Me Maybe' — It's 'Gangnam Style' Time

You can officially stop obsessing over the summer's most annoying lyrics: "Here's my number ... so call me, maybe." Why? Well, the new fixation is on “Heyyy! Sexy Laaady! Oppan Gangnam style! Gangnam style!”

Youtube

PSY's, "Gangnam Style"

The viral sensation "Gangnam Style," first uploaded to Google's YouTube in July, has amassed more than 145 million views — but it's much bigger than this.

Research released Thursday by the video analysis firm Visible Measures shows that with more than 260 related clips — including live performances, spoofs, mashups, and video responses — "Gangnam Style" has amassed 350 million views. Visible Measures calls these 350 million views the video's "true reach."

The amazing part? It did it in less than two months, nearly twice as fast as Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," which reached 350 million views in 112 days. "Gangnam Style" also trumps "Call Me Maybe" in another metric: There are more than 260 clips related to the "Gangnam Style" music video, while "Call Me Maybe" only has 165 clips related to it.

If you've been (understandably) ignoring Hits 100 radio stations and the constant carousel of trending YouTube videos in favor of pressing world concerns, you may not have heard of “Gangnam Style.” Here's the 411: it's a song recorded in July by Korean pop singer Park Jae Sang, known by his stage name PSY. Once you hear the song, it's hard to forget its wackiness and catchy lyrics. (More:'Hey! Sexy Lady!: 'Gangnam Style')

According to Visible Measures, "Gangnam Style" has been averaging more than 16 million views daily during the last week. It's also closing in on 1 million comments.

"This rapid growth in viewership can be attributed in part to a variety of celebrity plugs, including on-air mentions by Ellen and Chelsea Lately, as well as tweets from Josh Groban and Robbie Williams, and a cover performance by Nelly Furtado," Visible Measures wrote in a blog post.

There's likely to be another surge of Gangnam mania after Friday, which is when he appeared at an outdoor concert on the "Today" Show. That, in turn, caused PSY to become a trending topic on Twitter.

PSY, who attended both Boston University and the Berklee College of Music, is both part of — and a critic of — “K-pop.” The industry’s revenues hit about $3.4 billion in 2011, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), a government group that promotes the country’s cultural initiatives. K-pop’s exports also rose to $180 million last year — jumping 112 percent compared to 2010. Exports have been growing at an average annual rate of nearly 80 percent since 2007.

On Sept. 3, PSY announced he had signed with Scooter Braun’s School Boy Records, which represents Justin Bieber as well as Carly Rae Jepsen of “Call Me Maybe” fame.